Let It Snow
by LileyKigoSpashleyRizzslesLover
Summary: When Angela finds out what Maura really wants for Christmas, she does everything in her power to make it so. Jane/Maura. Twoshot.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: The next chapter will be up as soon as I finish it which should be by tomorrow morning. Hope you all enjoy the holidays!

XXXXX

It was a normal morning in the Isles household. Angela and Maura were at the table drinking their coffee before work.

"So, uh…" Angela started hesitantly. "I didn't want to have to ask you this but… I've been looking _everywhere _for a Christmas gift for you and have come up with nothing. What's something you want?"

Maura laughed. "You don't have to get me anything."

The older woman frowned. "But I want to! Help me out, Maura, please? What's something you want most in this world?"

Maura paused as something came to mind.

She saw the look. "You thought of something?"

"Yeah but… it's impossible."

"It's hard to find?"

Maura smiled. It was probably the least hard to find thing as she almost always knew where it was. "Nope. But there's only one."

Angela frowned as she tried to think of what it was. "I… I don't understand."

The scientist shook her head. "Never mind. It's impossible."

The woman just shot her an ever optimistic smile. "Nothing's impossible on Christmas!"

That caused Maura to laugh. "This is. Trust me."

She frowned again but gave herself a mental note to try again later as now they had to leave for the precinct.

As soon as they got there, Maura had to leave again as there was a murder nearby. With a wave to the oldest Rizzoli, the two best friends headed out.

They arrived at the scene and met up with Korsak and Frost, who had just gotten there as well.

As soon as they entered the building, they noticed something a bit different than other crime scene.

"Whoo! Why's it so hot in here?" Jane asked, walking into the house that was uncomfortably warm.

A nearby officer shrugged. "I don't know." He answered. "It was like this when we arrived. "

"Isn't it supposed to be cold?" She complained. "You know, _chilling _murders."

The other three just shook their heads at the lame pun before going about their jobs.

There was not much to do, however, considering they were in a small space, so Jane just stood and watched Maura do her job. The police officer who responded to the scene stepped up next to her.

"So what are you two doing for Christmas?" He asked, nodding towards the woman by the body. He, like most everyone else in the precinct, assumed they were together.

"My family is going to Maura's parent's house."

"Oh. That's nice. It's better to let the family's get to know each other before the big day, huh?" He laughed.

"What 'big day'?" She asked, eyeing him warily.

"Uh… I mean, uh… I need to go – do something over there." He pointed vaguely in the other direction and walked out of the room.

She watched him go and sighed. Their little rouse with Giovanni might have gotten out of hand, it seemed. After she walked over to the M.E. she squatted down next to her.

"There was a puddle of clear liquid next to the body." Maura said without looking away from the dead man.

"You mean sweat?" The detective tugged at her shirt to let the air circulate.

"I can't be sure without testing it."

"Of course you can't." She laughed. "Anyway… I think some people are getting the wrong idea about us."

That caused her to look up. "What do you mean?"

Jane laughed. "That cop thinks we're together."

"And you didn't tell him otherwise?" The doctor said, trying to hide her reddening face. While the cops were afraid of bringing something like this up to Jane, she had gotten more than her fair share of questions. Some of them she wasn't able to outright deny – not helping the rumors die down.

"N-no…" She actually didn't think of that. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Maura smiled. "It's not like we have our eye on any of the men we work with."

"Y-yeah…" Jane said, laughing with slight nervousness.

Within the next hour, pieces of the crime scene were all packed up and on the way to the station.

"You wanna grab some coffee before you get started on that?" Jane asked, pointing to the body when she joined her best friend in autopsy.

"Sure." She responded.

They went down to the café and put their orders in.

"So how bad is it this time?" Angela asked, referring to the murder.

"Not at all. Guy was shot and there are fingerprints on the knife. Pretty cut and dry." Jane responded.

"So you're not too busy to talk for a few minutes?" She looked at her daughter.

She signed but responded. "Fine, Ma. What about?"

The older woman handed the two their coffee. "Uh… something." She made a motion with her head towards the M.E. and hoped the hint was taken.

"Maura, how about I meet you down there?"

"Alright." She said, unfazed by being dismissed. She figured they just needed some mother-daughter time and left.

As soon as she was sure the doctor was out of earshot, Angela spoke. "I talked to Maura this morning."

"Good for you. So did I."

"Really? Isn't that rule one of gift giving?"

"I was stuck, okay! And anyways, she wouldn't tell me."

"Of course not. She has everything she needs. If there was anything she wants then I would already know about it."

Angela let out a defeated sigh. "So you don't know then…"

"What do you mean?"

"She said there was something. I was hoping you knew what it was."

Jane frowned. "No. She hasn't mentioned anything." Though she doubted that the tea of the month certificate she got for her was it.

"Oh. Well thanks anyway. I'll talk to her about it later, then."

"Well if you find out what it is can you let me in on it? My gift's kinda lame."

"Couldn't you find out what she wanted on your own? I thought you were supposed to be a detective, Jane."

"I am! But finding a killer and picking out a gift are two _very _different things and, to be honest, the second one is _way _more intimidating."

Angela laughed. "You've never been good at gift giving. Remember that frozen pizza you got me when you were ten?"

"I'm well aware of how bad I am, Ma. You don't need to rub it in." The detective grumbled.

She just chuckled at the memory. "The worst part of it was that it stayed under the tree for a week."

Jane sighed. "I wanted to you to be able to have a break from cooking. It was supposed to be thoughtful."

"It was, sweetheart." She said, kissing her daughter on the forehead. "It was."

"Whatever." The offspring said, breaking away before waving her off. "I have work to do." She walked away towards her the elevators where she would investigate the few leads they had in the case.

Angela worked at the café for hours until another one of her children came by. "Hi Frankie!"

"Hey Ma."

As she started getting his usual coffee order filled, a thought came to her. "Hey sweetie?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, knowing he was about to get roped into something. "What?"

"When you get the chance, can you send Maura up here?"

His brows furrowed. "That's it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… usually when you say something like _that _you… never mind." He shook his head, not wanting to go on lest she ask for more. "I'll go down now." He paid for and then grabbed his coffee before heading to the elevator and pressing the down arrow, causing it to light up.

Downstairs, Jane walked into the lab. "How's it going?"

"Well… the crime lab found the fingerprints that were on the knife belonged to the victim so no help there."

Jane sighed. "Great. I really didn't want one of _these _cases two days before Christmas."

Frankie walked in and noticed both women turned to look at him.

"Find something new?" Jane asked hopefully.

"No. Just that Ma wants to talk to Maura."

"Really? What about?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. She didn't say."

Maura joined the conversation. "Well I'll be down after I stitch him up." She said, pointing to the corpse on the table that had just gone through a thorough examination to find out that the stab wound, was indeed, his cause of death. While she enjoyed talking with the woman, she was somewhat hesitant as she didn't want to bring up the topic from earlier. Nevertheless, after the last stitch was threaded she put him into a refrigeration unit and headed downstairs.

"I think you know why I asked you down here." Angela said when she locked eyes with the woman.

She sighed and nodded. "I really don't want to talk about it. It's not something you can get me anyway."

"Well I'll be the judge of that. And even if I really can't, I'm curious."

The M.E. shook her head again. "I don't want to cause any tension in your family."

That caused the older woman's eyebrows to furrow as her brain worked to figure out the puzzle she's been given. After a few moments of nothing coming to mind, she whined – quite an odd thing for a woman of her age to do. "Why won't you tell me? I'm starting to think it's something bad."

"It's not – well… that depends on… never mind." She sighs. "I'll tell you." Maura conceded, though not happy about it. "I want Jane."

"What?" This thoroughly confused the woman. "Is that some brand of shoe? Cause I know you don't mean – "

"No." She interrupted. "I – I'm in love with your daughter."

Angela's face nearly split in two from her smile. "Then Santa is gonna work hard to make sure you get what you want for Christmas, sweetie." She bounded away as the wheels in her head were turning furiously – mischievous little plan coming together.

Maura stood there in stunned silence as she watched the woman practically skip into the back room of the café. After a few seconds she went back down to her office and was grateful that it was currently vacated as she collapsed in her chair and let out a long, needed, sigh.

XXXXX

The day was spent working on the case. There were many people to talk to so Jane and Maura did not have much time to spend with each other. No matter how busy they were, though, they still found time to chat.

"Hey Maura. Have you noticed how strange my mother's been acting?"

"Huh? Oh. Maybe… maybe she's acting like that for a reason."

"Maybe." The taller woman shrugged. "Anyway. You still okay with us going to Christmas at your parent's this year?"

Maura smiled. "Of course. The Rizzoli's are like family to me. I want to spend this time of year with you as much as I do my own family."

The detective returned the smile. "You are pretty much part of the family, Maura." She laughed. "With as much time as you spend with us I'm not surprised about what people are saying." She frowned as she thought of something. "Maybe that's why Ma's acting weird. Maybe she caught wind of it." A sigh escaped her lips. "God, I don't even want to know what she would do if that's the case."

"I'm sure she would be fine with us being in a relationship if, hypothetically, we were in a relationship." She supplied, trying to be helpful.

"Oh, I already know that."

Thin, sculpted eyebrows drew together. "You do?"

"Yeah… she's told me time and time again she would be okay with me being with a woman. I think she just wants her chances of grandchildren to be doubled." She laughed. Noticing Maura's rigid posture, she figured she was getting sick of personal things being discussed during a case. "Anyway, anyone who was an obvious suspect has an alibi during his time of death."

"That makes sense."

"Why's that?" Her befuddled expression just reinforced her confused tone of voice.

"Well… I've been thinking of the circumstances we found him in." Maura said, and then started listing off things using her hands. "Knocked over chair, puddle of what we determined to be water, high temperature setting on the thermostat, lack of defensive wounds, and only his prints on the knife. It kind of adds up to one thing."

Jane's face indicated she wasn't following the M.E.'s train of thought.

"A suicide, Jane! Though, contrary to popular belief, this time of year results in a _decreased _amount of suicides. The number actually peaks in the spring and fall seasons."

An eyebrow quirked up. "Really? You think this guy offed himself?"

"Not think, know. The angle and depth of penetration of the knife seemed odd to me and I didn't understand why until I took everything at the crime scene into consideration." She reached over and picked up a folded piece of paper. "_And _I found this!"

Jane took it, unfolded it, and groaned. "You're just now showing me this?"

"I wanted to be sure. Planted suicide notes are sometimes found at murder scenes. You know that as much as I do."

She nodded, remembering a few instances that has happened. "Well I guess I better go talk to Korsak and Frost. Meet you at home?" She stopped and stumbled over her words. "I – I mean your house." Though with as much time as she spends there it might as well be her home too.

"Yeah." She watched the detective walk out and spent a few minutes cleaning up before she went to her car in the parking garage.

Upstairs, Jane was stopped by her mother.

"Hey Ma. Finished with work?"

"Yeah. Stanley just let me have tomorrow and Christmas off too." She said, happy that she didn't have to miss out on anything.

"Alright then. I'll see you at Maura's." She started to walk away but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Actually… I wanted to talk to you about something."

She turned around and raised her eyebrows, indicating for the other woman to continue.

Angela had thought all day about how to do this without having Jane involved but came up with nothing so she decided to recruit her in her planning. "Maura told me what it is she wants."

"Oh yeah? What?" She figured it was a new pair of boots or something. Hopefully not those Air Jordan's that caused riots this morning. She laughed internally at the thought of Maura wanting a pair of sneakers for Christmas.

"You."

"What?"

"Like that song! All I want for Christmas is you!" She sung the comparison that just now came to mind. "Oh, how sweet!"

"Ma! You must have heard wrong!"

Said woman frowned, expecting a different reaction. "No… she distinctly said she was in love with you." Her expression turned back to a grin. "Won't it be a wonderful surprise? You, declaring your love on Christmas morning?"

"You're missing one crucial part of this."

"What?"

"I'm _not_ in love with her!" She shot back, a little tense at the new development.

Angela watched her daughter storm off and grimaced. Looks like she wasn't getting the doctor what she wanted. She went back home and entered the main house, finding only Maura present.

Since it was the eve of Christmas Eve, they had all decided to have a nice intimate dinner, just the five of them.

"Where are the others?"

"Well… Tommy's still working and Frankie's on his way. Jane… I don't know if Jane's even going to make it."

That caused a gloomy look to appear on the M.E.'s face. "Why not?"

"I… I may have said something to upset her."

"Oh." She wasn't surprised, knowing how smothering the woman could be.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Angela went to go welcome her sons waiting outside.

"Tommy, Frankie!" She exclaimed before bringing them in for a hug.

The three walked into the main area of the house and the two male guests greeted Maura. After a few minutes of waiting, the doctor sent a text to her best friend.

_Where are you?_

It didn't take long for an answer.

_Home._

Maura sighed and typed quickly.

_Why aren't you here like you promised?_

Minutes passed without a reply. Just as the other three were just about ready to sit down for dinner, Maura grabbed her coat.

"I'm sorry. Go ahead and start without me. I'm going to go see if Jane's okay."

Angela smiled at the devotion the woman had for her daughter. "We'll wait. The sauce could use a few more minutes anyway."

With a grateful smile to the Rizzoli trio, she left and, a few minutes later, she arrived at Jane's apartment complex.


	2. Chapter 2

After knocking below the '12' nailed to the door, Maura waited impatiently for the door to open. It took longer than necessary and was only opened after a few more bangs to the chunk of wood from the worried doctor.

"You should know better than to ignore my texts." She said in reply to the irritated glare she got when the it was finally opened.

"I know, I know." Jane said, leading her to the couch she was comfortably occupying before being interrupted.

They sat down. A beat later, Maura's concerned gaze was boring through her best friend's skull.

"What?" The Italian woman asked, looking over at her.

"What are you doing here, Jane?" She asked, knowing there was something deeper going on than just irritation at Angela's nagging.

"To get away from my mother." Said woman answered, hoping it would mollify the shorter girl.

"Try again."

She heaved out a deep sigh before responding. "Really. I don't want to see her right now."

"Okay." Though she didn't buy it, she let it go. "Do you want to talk about it?" Placing a hand on the other woman's knee, she prepared herself to play the comforting best friend as best she could.

Jane froze at the touch and was only able to shake her head. She gazed in the eyes of the woman next to her and was struck with something but internally shoved it away.

"Well then I'll stay here as long as you need me to."

"You don't have to stay here at all." She replied a beat later once she finally gained control of her speech abilities.

"Then I'll stay here as long as _I _need to. Nothing short of a serial killer cut loose on Boston is going to get you out of going to my parents' house."

The detective cracked a smile. "Why is this so important to you?" She had been pestered about this every day for the past month, it seemed.

"Because… you're the person I care about most in this world. I want to spend Christmas with you."

Though she knew the deeper meaning behind that, she couldn't help but feel a rush of sensations that felt like she was just immersed in a bath of warm oil. She blinked and, suddenly, everything looked different. The Maura she knew before had this glow about her that she couldn't quite put her finger on. And then it hit her.

"Crap." Jane said before letting out another sigh.

"What is it?" She asked, concerned that something bad had happened within her.

"Nothing… but we should go back to your place. I have to talk to my mother."

A smile broke out on the M.E.'s face and she all but skipped out the door, best friend in tow.

When they finally arrived at the residence after a quiet, but thought filled, car ride, the meal was halfway over. Angela kept the boys from starting for as long as she could but it did not last long until they dug in behind her back.

The last two sat down and began filling their plates with pasta, bread and salad. It was a simple meal but, considering they were one day away from feasting on whatever goods the Isles' have prepared, it seemed fitting.

"So, you all remember that we are leaving at three tomorrow, right?" Maura reminded. Again.

A round of nods responded as well as an eye roll or two. At that time most everyone was done with their meal.

Jane took one last bite before standing. "Uh… Ma? Can I talk to you? Outside?" Without waiting for an answer she headed out the door that led to the guest house."

Angela soon followed.

The detective took a moment to figure a way of going about this. When the thoughts came into her mind, she knew she would regret it. "You were right."

The mother's eyes widened as she heard the sentence she had never thought she would from her daughter's mouth. "What did you say?"

"You're right." She heaved a sigh as the saying was too much for her to handle saying to the woman in front of her. "I _am _in love with Maura. It just took me a bit longer to realize it."

The older woman practically squeed before she tackled Jane in a hug.

"Okay, okay!" She tried her best to push her away but not even all those MMA classes she's been taking taught her anything that would get her out of a hold this tight. Eventually she just had to sit there and let it run its course.

Angela pulled away. "You'll help me plan something?"

"Of course."

"I've recruited your brothers already."

"Wha– But I _just _told you!"

"So? I already knew. I just hoped you would clue in before Christmas!"

That caused Jane to laugh. "And if I didn't?"

She shrugged. "That would have made for an interesting surprise."

"No kidding." She said sarcastically. "So what have you planned so far?"

"Well… I've already called Maura's mother. All you have to do is…" Angela started, leading her inside the smaller home to show her the plans they drew up.

Inside, Frankie and Tommy were helping Maura clean up.

"Whaddya think Janey wanted to talk to Ma about?" Frankie asked his brother when the female was out of earshot.

He shrugged. "Dunno. Probably about Christmas."

"Hopefully about – chicken dinosaurs." The BPD employee changed his train of thought as fast as he could when he saw Maura reenter the room.

Tommy's face twisted in confusion but, when he saw the woman out of the corner of his eye, he understood and played along. "Yeah… I miss those things…"

They finished cleaning the dishes in silence just in time for the two missing women to rejoin them. Maura reminded them _again _about tomorrow's plans before she let them go. Jane lingered behind.

"Listen, Maura…" She hesitated.

"Yes?"

"Thanks. For earlier." She gave her a soft, shy smile.

Maura returned it, cheeks gently reddening. "No problem."

They embraced before Jane headed out.

XXXXX

The next morning, Jane received a frantic phone call which woke her from a very pleasant dream.

"Okay, calm down, Ma. What happened?" She waited for a moment as the same words came through the receiver but at a slower pace. "That was just a dream." Another rush assaulted her ear. "It'll be fine, Ma. You said you talked to Mrs. Isles, right?" She waited for the answer. "Okay, then. There should be no problem." She tried to reassure her mother but it only worked a little bit. "I'm hanging up now." Without giving her time to respond, she did just that.

Swinging her legs over the side of her bed, she sighed. "I swear, that woman is going to drive me crazy." She mumbled before standing. She greeted a nearby Joe and headed into the kitchen where she fetched the dog, and herself, some breakfast.

When she was finished slurping up clovers and rainbows, she headed into the bedroom to get done and start packing. Considering it was only eleven this was pretty early for her to start. She shoved everything she would need for tonight and tomorrow into a medium sized bag before gathering up needed toiletries. Last to go in was the dress Maura had bought for her after the seven hour shopping trip whose sole purpose was finding said dress for Christmas Eve dinner. She didn't want to put it on until she absolutely had to.

She dropped Joe off with Marisa and headed to Maura's house, a few minutes after one. She commandeered the remote immediately and changed it from Cupcake Wars to the start of the kickoff.

"Hey! I was watching that!"

"I'm sure it was a rerun. Besides – football." She pointed the remote at the TV to back up her claim and turned up the volume.

Maura scoffed and got up, figuring she could use this time to make sure – for the thousandth time – that she had everything she needed.

By the time everyone else arrived it was halftime. Jane was reluctant to leave the game, especially since they were losing seventeen to zero, but Maura promised to put it on the radio in the car.

The game ended with the Patriots winning by three and an M.E. nearly going deaf from all the cheering that came from the crowded backseat when they were about a half-hour away from their destination.

They arrived at the luxurious home and rang the doorbell. A few minutes later they were greeted by Constance Isles.

"Hello darling." She said, directing her gaze towards her daughter. She gave her a two-cheek-kiss and then smiled at the others. "Nice to see you again Jane, Angela. And I presume you two are Tommy and Frankie?"

They smiled and nodded before introducing themselves so she knew who was who. After a round of nice-to-meet-you's they went inside to repeat the welcomings with David, Maura's father.

Since they had another hour or so before dinner would be ready, they were allowed to spend some time to freshen up in their rooms. Jane went to hers to finally put on the dress she could barely walk in. After she zipped herself up, Maura walked in.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Why?"

"You're not nervous or anything? I know we didn't really prepare for the dining part of this evening."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." The detective waved her off. "Besides, I've had dinner with your mother before, remember?"

"Yes but… that was when _I_ was serving dinner. This is different."

"That's not true." Jane protested with a playful smirk. "We ate at the Robber too."

That earned an eye-roll from the doctor. "While I do enjoy your sense of humor, it is not appreciated right now."

"I'm sorry." Jane finally noticed the tense air around the shorter woman. "How are you doing?"

She sighed as she sat down on the bed. "I'm… well, to say I'm nervous would be an understatement."

Jane joined her and covered the M.E.'s slightly shaking hand with her own. "It'll be fine. It's just Christmas Eve."

"I just – I want everyone to get along." She looked up at Jane and smiled. "You and your family have been amazing ever since I met you and… I just want our families to like each other."

"They will, Maura." She gave her a comforting side-hug. "And if they don't… I have my gun."

"Jane!" She broke away from the embrace to shoot the detective a glare.

"I was kidding!" She pulled her back into the hug. "Mostly." She finished softly.

That earned a jab in the ribs from the M.E. who stood up immediately after. "You have ten minutes to be downstairs."

"Yes, captain!" Jane said sarcastically with a salute to the leaving woman. After she finished the makeup Maura said was required, she went down.

They were led into the dining room where the table was immaculately set. It looked like something out of a magazine – yet somehow more perfect. Everything was gleaming and in its place.

After they all took their designated seats, Constance stood up, wine glass in hand.

"Thank you all for sharing this holiday with us. I know that we haven't been the most family oriented household but it's never too late to start taking a look at things that really matter. The people who sit at this table come from different backgrounds, neither one better than the other, and I know we can all learn something for each other if for no other reason than the sake of our daughters." She looked at each person at the table and gave them a smile. She knew she would be spending more time with them after this holiday due to the relationship that was to be formed soon and was actually looking forward to it. Sure, Jane wasn't the kind of person she has always hoped her Maura would find but she made her daughter happy and that was the most important thing. She raised her glass and spoke. "To family."

The table echoed the words and clinked glasses together before they all took a sip of their wine – except for Tommy, who had water.

They dug in on the first course – a creamy carrot soup. It was immediately apparent who was from what side of the tracks, as half the table was slurping while the other half made no noise whatsoever.

"Jane," Maura whispered. "Scoop it up like this." She demonstrated the correct way to do it as she placed the utensil in the bowl and then dragged it along the top edge to get the liquid off the bottom of the spoon before bringing it up to her and sipping from the edge.

The detective tried but ended up slurping even louder, causing the face of the M.E. seated next to her to redden in embarrassment.

After that course, the waiters brought out the second one. Placed before each individual was a short cocktail glass filled with a red sauce. Hanging off the side were five plump, pink shrimp.

The Rizzolis ate this as delicately as they could – trying not to make as much noise as they did before.

"Hey Frankie." Tommy whispered excitedly to his brother. "Look what I made!"

The cop looked over at the shellfish containing glass and smiled. The ex-con had used his last two shrimp to make a heart in the middle of the glass. "You sure are an odd one." He whispered back.

"Sorry… thought I'd lighten the mood. I've never been to somethin' this fancy and I'm a little uncomfortable."

"Join the club." He said, nodding to his sister who looked awkwardly stiff – sitting straighter than he had ever recalled seeing before.

"Heh, yeah… I guess I didn't think about how hard this must be for her. And if she screws up…" He shook his head, letting the statement finish itself.

Frankie just nodded and dipped his last piece of seafood in the sauce before sticking it in his mouth.

Before the next course came out, Angela looked over at Jane and frowned. She tried to kick her daughter under the table but accidentally hit Maura's leg.

"Ow!" She jumped slightly.

"You okay, Maura?" Jane asked, concerned.

"Yeah…" She looked in the direction it came in and noticed the oldest Rizzoli looking apologetic.

"I meant to get Jane." She whispered, nodding at the woman.

The M.E.'s brows furrowed but she looked over and saw why the kicking had happened in the first place. "Jane, sweetie." She said softly.

"Uh… yeah?"

"Elbows off the table." She whispered as quietly as she could so her parents couldn't hear.

Constance smiled, seeing the exchange. She knew they hadn't grown up ever being involved in a dinner like this and appreciated their attempt to act as they were supposed to even though they were failing miserably. More than once had she noticed a wrong utensil being used or a napkin being left on the table instead of their laps and was happy they had done this first dinner in a private setting. Though she gave herself a mental reminder to talk to Maura about better preparing them for next time.

The salad came out – if you could even call it that as nothing was mixed together. It was just a wedge of lettuce with tomatoes surrounding it and a thin layer of dressing covering it. Surrounding it were chestnuts and cranberries.

Maura watched in horror as Jane speared the green chunk and brought it up to her mouth. She cleared her throat, causing the woman to pause and look over. "Use your knife."

"On a salad?"

She nodded and did so herself.

Jane sighed and followed suit. Though she was still hungry, she was already anticipating the end of this dinner.

It didn't take long for that course to be polished off and, a few minutes later, the main dish was brought out.

"Where'd you find such tiny chickens?" Angela asked, staring down at her plate in amazement.

Constance cracked a smile. "This is quail."

"Oh." Her face fell. "Sorry."

"Don't be. It's a common mistake." She said.

"No it's n – ow!" David got kicked under the table by his wife and looked at her, alarmed at the action.

She just shrugged and turned to her meal.

As they were eating the poultry, it was pretty silent. More than once Angela had to remind one of her children to eat with their mouths closed, but otherwise things seemed to be going well… for now.

Jane looked over at Maura to watch how she dealt with separating the meat of the bird off the bone. It looked easy but she ended up catapulting the carcass off her plate and on top of the centerpiece, causing a few flower petals to waft down.

The detective shrunk into her chair. "Sorry about that."

Her brothers tried, and failed, to stifle their laughs. Angela shot them a glare but couldn't help a smile to come through.

"It's quite alright, Jane." Maura's mother said with a slight grin. She motioned for one of the waiters to take care of it. "I'll say one thing. This dinner is certainly… unique."

Jane leaned over to whisper in her best friend's ear. "By unique does she mean horrible?"

"Not necessarily." She responded.

That caused the detective to deflate even more. "Thanks for the reassuring answer…" She mumbled sarcastically.

Minutes later, everyone else was done with this part of the meal and they were ready for dessert.

Small plates came out with a circular brown treat in the middle of a swirl of chocolate sauce an inch from the outside edge. Topping it was one large strawberry.

"Finally, cake!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Soufflé." Maura corrected.

"That's what I said." He poked at it with his fork and it immediately deflated. "Aww…"

Jane snorted, which caused the brother she was laughing at to look up and shoot her a glare. She responded by sticking her tongue out.

They ate for a few minutes before a buzzing caused the detective to pull it out – from where, nobody knew – and look at the caller ID.

"Jane! What did I tell you about having your phone on at the table?"

"Sorry… I have to take this." She said, standing up and walking out as she placed the device against her ear. "What is it Korsak?"

"I'm sorry about that." She said, directing her words at her parents.

"Don't be. She's an important woman. I know that." David responded with a smile before he brought his fork up to his mouth for his final bite of dessert.

Maura shot him a grateful smile and looked at the doorway Jane left through. She hoped it wasn't anything too important.

They could hear her yelling into her cell from in there "What? It's Christmas Eve! Do I re – " She was cut off by the male on the other end. "Fine… I'll be there in a couple hours." She reentered the room with a grimace. "I'm gonna have to borrow your car, Maura."

"Is everything okay?" The M.E. asked.

"They need me to go in. A – uh… new lead in a cold case. It's really important."

"Should I come with you?"

"No!" She said a bit too firmly. "I- I mean, no. Enjoy Christmas Eve with your family. I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise."

Maura wasn't happy about it but she nodded anyway. "You'd better. The keys are in my purse. In my room."

"Thanks, El-Biff!" She smiled and wrapped her arms around the still seated woman's shoulders, hugging her from behind, before she went up the stairs. She was beyond happy for the excuse to get out of this dress.

Back at the table, the guests all looked at each other. They weren't quite sure what to say but, considering no more food was on the table, they thought they should come up with a topic of conversation.

"So…" Frankie started. "How 'bout them Patriots?"

"I'm sorry?" Constance didn't follow.

"The game earlier." Tommy explained. "You – you guys don't watch football?"

They shook their heads.

"Of course not." The youngest Rizzoli sighed.

"Okay." Frankie said, trying again. "Um… how 'bout this weather?" He laughed nervously.

"Angela, dear," Constance said, ignoring Frankie's flubbed attempt at being social. "Would you like to help me in the kitchen?"

"I thought you hired people to do all this – " She stopped, catching onto the real reason for going in. "Oh… sure, I'd be happy to help!" She stood up and followed the other woman into the other room.

Maura looked around at the males that remained who just shrugged, not helping her urge for answers.

Several minutes later the two women came back in.

"Well, it is getting rather late. I'm heading to bed." The elder Isles woman produced a yawn and motioned for her husband to do the same.

"Yeah, me too!" Angela followed, going up to her own room.

Tommy and Frankie took the hint and left Maura alone and curious.

XXXXX

The next morning, everyone came down at their own pace. It took several hours between the first person getting a cup of coffee to the last person – Tommy – arriving sleepy-eyed.

There were colorful packages around the base of the tree. One package stood out – a large box set a few feet away from the rest.

"When did that get there?" Maura asked, not remembering it being there yesterday when everyone put the gifts they had brought under the tree.

"Maybe Santa put it there!" Angela chimed.

Constance shot her a look asking her to tone it down that went unanswered as she continued on.

"So… let's get to opening! Maura, dear, why don't you go first?"

"Is Jane still not back?" Said woman asked, noticing the lacking presence of her best friend.

The oldest Rizzoli shrugged. "Guess not." She motioned to the box. "Go on."

The M.E. stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. "We're not going to wait for her?"

"She's two hours from here!"

"How do you know she's not on her way?" She pulled out her cell phone. "I'll call her."

Angela grabbed it from her so quickly she nearly pulled off a finger in the process. "No need. I talked to her this morning. She said it would be awhile."

"That's too bad. She's going to miss all this."

"Don't worry." Angela smirked, pulling a camcorder from behind her back. "I'll tape it for her if she wants to see it later."

"Oh! That's very thoughtful of you!" She smiled, not even wondering about the randomness of the object, before turning to Tommy. "Since you're the youngest, I think you should go first."

He looked surprised. "Me? You sure?"

"Yep! Go ahead!" She handed him the present she got for him.

He took it and considered it for a moment, like he was trying to guess its contents before opening it. He took the corner edge of the paper and peeled it away, revealing it. "Whoa! No way! This is so cool!" He said, looking down at his new glow-in-the-dark chess set with a face splitting smile.

"For all those night games you like to play." She smiled.

"Thanks Maura!" He gave her a hug and continued with his other gifts. From his sister, he got a cookbook while his brother got him a subscription to Dog Fancy. The last gift was one from his mother to both him and Frankie. They opened it together and found fishing poles and passes to board a local fishing boat.

Since Frankie was the second youngest in the room, he went next. He opened the gift that read 'from Jane' first. It was a desktop basketball hoop.

"What the –? If she was here, I'm sure she'd have some explanation behind this. I mean, at least you got something that makes sense, Tommy, considering you're learning to cook."

Most everyone in the room laughed.

He sighed and continued on, opening a long box next. He peered inside before shaking out the object within. It was a baseball bat personalized with his name. He thanked his brother and accepted the next box from Maura. This one was also baseball themed but rather… unusual.

"A toaster?" He looked at it in confusion. "Gee… thanks, Maura."

She smiled. "Not just any toaster!" She chimed, going over to him and pointing at the box. "It burns the insignia of the Boston Red Sox into the toast!"

He quirked an amused eyebrow at her and smirked. "Yeah. I saw that. Thanks again." He gave her a hug and put his gifts aside.

"Looks like it's your turn!" Angela cheered as she looked at Maura.

She nodded and, deciding to leave the biggest gift for last, reached for a small package.

"That one? Maura, don't you want to see what's in the big one?" The excitable Italian asked.

"But that one's from all of you. I should get through the other ones first." She reasoned.

"Okay, if you say so." She sulked, not wanting to wait any longer.

The M.E. opened one package to reveal something that appeared to be one of those paper coffee cups you get from cafes. However, it was squishy and all in one piece. She looked at the woman it was from in confusion.

"It's like a stress-ball but… not a ball. I know how much you like coffee and I figure your job must be really stressful…"

She smiled. "It's very thoughtful. Thank you, Angela." She continued on and found out Jane got her a membership to the tea-of-the-month club and that Frankie and Tommy got her a box of chocolates. Her parents got her a bottle of 1947 Chateau Petrus Bordeaux that they picked up in France a few months ago. After thanking everyone, she set everything aside and eyed the last box warily. It was _really _big and she couldn't think of what was possibly inside.

She reached for the bow on the top and undid it. Her hands carefully peeled away the paper and, just before she could open the box, something sprang up.

Not expecting this, Maura screamed. There she saw the missing woman dressed in green and red, with a mistletoe hat placed securely on her head.

Jane laughed and got on to the second part of the gift. "You can have me."

"What?" As she was still overwhelmed with shock, she wasn't quite sure of what was going on.

"If you want me, you can have me. Hell, I've pretty much been yours for awhile now." She gave her mother a fake glare as she said the next bit. "Even if it took some prodding to realize it."

"You – you – really?" Her eyes were brimming with happy tears.

"Merry Christmas, Maura." She said, affirming it.

Unabashed, Maura leapt up into Jane's open arms and kissed her as firmly as she felt comfortable doing so in front of everyone else. Turns out, that wasn't for too long. "I thought you were back in Boston." She said when she pulled away.

Jane shook her head. "That was a lie so that you would all start opening your gifts without me."

"Oh… clever!"

"And, by the way," she turned her gaze to Frankie. "I _did _have a reason for your gift."

"Yeah? I'm waiting."

She stepped out of the box before responding. "You're a new detective. Once you get assigned to a squad you'll be attached to your desk more often than not. Trust me, I know from experience – it gets boring once in awhile."

"That does make sense." He smiled. "Thanks Sis!"

"You're welcome." She said, returning the grin.

"Would you like to open your gifts now, Janey?" Angela asked.

"I have all the gifts I need." She replied, looking into the eyes of her beloved.

"Really? You just want us to throw them away then?"

She narrowed her eyes at the woman and thought for a moment. "Uh… nah! Give'em here!"

With a smile, she started with Maura's gift which easily overshadowed the others. It was an opportunity to join a practice game with the Red Sox during spring training. It took her almost a full minute to stop screaming her thanks for Maura to be able to tell her that she would also get her the tickets needed to go down to Florida – where they held their spring training.

After that she opened a gift from her brothers – also Sox related. It was a patch of sod from Fenway encased in glass as an 'artifact' of the park.

From her mother she received a nightgown. Pink. With hearts.

"Gee… thanks, Ma." She said, sarcastically. Surely her mother knew better by now, she thought. Nevertheless, she gave her a hug.

The other generation of folks opened theirs next. Angela got a certificate for yoga lessons from Maura, a digital frame preloaded with pictures from Frankie, a new label maker from Tommy and a bathrobe and bath salts from Jane.

Maura had gotten her mother a pair of ostrich leather boots. The same style that, unbeknownst to the M.E., the elder Isles had bought weeks earlier. She got her father a pair of personalized gold cufflinks.

When all that as done, Angela presented the Isles' with a bottle of Champagne from the whole Rizzoli family. Though it cost less than one glass of whatever they were drinking the previous day, it was well received.

"I didn't even think to get you anything." Constance said.

"That's quite alright," Angela assured. "That meal yesterday was gift enough!"

The other mother smiled but tucked a note away in her mind. "We also have brunch prepared for today. Would you like to start?"

That caused a smile to appear on her face. "I love brunch!"

Jane looked at her oddly as she couldn't' recall a single time they had had brunch in the Rizzoli household. But, as all the others started filtering out, she grasped Maura's hand firmly in her own to keep her behind.

"Jane?"

"Maura… I want to say something that I didn't want to say in front of everyone."

"What is it?" She looked up into the eyes so filled with love and affection she swore this had to be a dream.

"I – it's just that…" She knew what she wanted to say but couldn't quite get her mouth to form the words. "I only realized I felt this way two days ago but when I look back on all the time we've spent together I want to beat myself up over how blind I've been. Maura, I love you more than anything on this planet. I've never felt the way I do when I'm with you and I've often wondered before if I would ever feel this way. But it seems that everything I've done in the past just led me up to this moment and I am truly, truly grateful." With tears in her eyes she bent down for a kiss. Like the one before, it didn't last very long but, unlike the one before, it was filled with the passion that was fueled by those words.

When they separated, Maura could only look into her love's eyes. After a moment of recovery, she spoke. "I love you too, Jane."

Jane tried to frown but was unable to. "That's it? I have this whole speech and that's all you have to say?" The joking tone in her voice was easily apparent.

"Sorry!" She said in mock anger. "I didn't have hours in some box to rehearse what I was going to say." A beat later something came to her. "How long _did _you stay in there, anyway?"

The detective reached up to rub a crick out of her neck and groaned. "God, I don't even know. Five, six hours?"

"Why so long?"

"My mother. She didn't know what time you were going to get up so she woke me up at five o'clock in the morning to shove me in the box."

Maura could only laugh.

"Thanks for the sympathy."

"I'm sorry, Janey. I'll make it up to you when we get home."

Jane smiled. "I'll be sure you do." Still holding hands they started walking into the dining room. "Wait… did you just call me Janey?" She asked in amusement.

"Yeah… it doesn't work when I say it, does it?"

"Not so much."

They joined the others and had a nice meal. While it wasn't as fancy as last night's feast, it was still very impressive. There was lobster, ham and salmon along with frittatas, sautéed potatoes and stuffed French toast. They were also served freshly squeezed juice as well as the usual staples: bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, and an assortment of breads.

This meal went far better than the previous one, as it wasn't as formal. Nice conversation flowed easily through the hour or so they spent dining and they enjoyed getting to know one another. But, as with all good things, it had to come to an end. After getting everything packed up and into the car, they bid farewell and headed back to Boston.

Jane had called shotgun long ago for no other reason than to hold the M.E.'s free hand while she was driving. They even made a game of tracing words into each other's flesh and had the other guess what was written. Because of this the two hours flew by like nothing for them.

The others, however, were currently being entertained by sports again. This time, the Celtics game was currently being broadcasted through the radio. The noise level wasn't as intense as before but that was only because Jane wasn't joining in as enthusiastically this time.

When they arrived back to Maura's home they spent a few hours just enjoying the company of family as they curled up on the couch and watched a movie. When the credits rolled, Jane gave her brothers a look telling them that they better get out of there as she couldn't stand being near Maura without being able to do anything.

Angela, however, was a bit harder to convince.

"Hey Ma, why don't you go try out those bath salts I got you?" Jane offered.

"Maybe later, sweetheart." She said, searching the guide for another movie.

"Ma… please?" She motioned her head toward the woman in her arms, indicating she wanted some alone time.

"Jane, really? You have the rest of your lives to be alone together. And it's not like you two'll reproduce while I'm gone. I've done my research. I know you need scientists for stuff like that!"

"Then consider it a present. You need to make up for that pink _thing _anyway."

Her mother gasped in horror. "I'll have you know I looked hard for that gift! But, fine, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." She got up and walked away. "You two have a good evening." She said before closing the door.

As soon as it shut, Maura turned to face the other woman. "Jane…"

"What?"

"You could have been a bit nicer."

"Sorry… I just wanted to be alone with you."

"There were other ways to do that. For example, we could have left the room."

Her face fell. "I didn't think of that."

Maura laughed. "Of course not. But since we _are _alone." Her smirk turned to a sultry grin as she wrapped her arms around the detective's neck and pressed herself into the warm body next to her. From there she planted a chaste kiss before pulling away. "You are the best gift I've ever gotten."

Jane grinned proudly. "Thanks. And I think that spring training practice thing with the Sox is the best gift I've ever gotten."

The Irish woman shot her a slightly amused, but still stern, glare.

"Oh! And, yeah, you're pretty great too!"

Maura just shook her head and went in for another kiss. This time it really lasted. Their tongues intertwined almost immediately as hands roamed the body that was so recently forbidden to them. The make-out session lasted a good ten minutes and, during that time, there was a plethora of different speeds, pressures and techniques employed to ensure the most pleasurable experience either one of the two had had thus far in their lives. With all the endorphins pumping through their body you'd think they were intoxicated and, in a way, they were. Though they hadn't had a drop of alcohol that day, they were most certainly drunk. Drunk on love.

When Maura couldn't take being restricted by clothing anymore, she pulled away. "Should we go to my room?" She offered, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"As long as whatever we do doesn't get me put on the naughty list for next year." Jane joked but with the look in the other woman's eyes she didn't think that would be possible. She followed the alluring doctor nonetheless.


End file.
